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Hotel Gyms in London That Warrant Their Own Visit

In today’s world of 600-threadcount Frette sheets and potent five-star service, there are still too many top hotels with claustrophobic boxes posing as fitness facilities. Whether on a long-haul holiday, a quick weekend away or a frenetic business trip, an outing to the onsite hotel gym can be the ideal way to unwind. Thankfully, the capitol of the United Kingdom has plenty—not surprising, given its high rate of business and leisure travelers. Herein, our favorite hotel gyms in London.

Bridget Arsenault is the associate editor, print and digital at Vanity Fair UK. and the co-director of the Bright Young Things Film Club. She covers the U.K. beat for Travel + Leisure; follow her on Twitter at @bridget_ruth.

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The Ham Yard Hotel, London

Courtesy Ham Yard Hotel

Even if you’re not staying in one of the hotel’s 91 individually designed suites or 24 self-sufficient apartments, there’s no excuse not to visit this Soho-central gym and spa. With the gym open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the focus is on the cutting edge (annual Soholistic gym membership is $1,714; day passes are $39).

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The Ham Yard Hotel, London

Simon Brown

The basics are all there—elegant changing rooms, a steam room, a relaxation room, traditional exercise equipment, but it diverges at the fully equipped hypoxic studio. A relatively new technological advancement, hypoxic refers to a specialized system of generators that reduce the flow of oxygen in the room; thus forcing the body to work harder and burn on average 30 per cent more calories.

Post workout or personal training session, book into one of the two individual treatment rooms, or the double treatment room. British brand Liz Earle is used throughout the treatment menu, but for a splurge, the Champagne &Truffles Deluxe facial ($234 for the 90-minute treatment)—by Temple Spa products—treats your skin to a palate of champagne, silk, diamonds, gold and black truffles.

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The Mondrian Hotel, London

Niall Clutton

The first Mondrian hotel to open outside of America, this property’s Agua Bathhouse & Spa is downstairs—in fact, below the waterline. It overloads the senses with integrated iPod docks, video and USB charging stations, as well as 15-inch touch screens on all the STARTRAC cardio equipment.

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The Mondrian Hotel, London

Niall Clutton

Not to be missed are the Monday sunrise yoga classes. A combination of Ashtanga, Hatha and Vinyasa yoga, they’re held with the floor-to-ceiling views of the Rumpus Room rooftop bar. You’ll never find a cascade of waterfall sounds wafting from the spa speakers; instead, the atmosphere is slightly more boisterous, and the mud parties—where 10 to 15 guests can take over the spa premises and enjoy a mud-mask treatment while sipping champagne and indulging on strawberries—are a prime example of the spa’s spirit ($133 for flexible monthly passes for non-guests; spa treatments also include gym access).

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The Beaumont Hotel, London

Courtesy Beaumont Hotel

When the Beaumont Hotel opened in Mayfair last year, the talking point was undoubtedly its stainless steel “inhabitable sculpture,” by Antony Gormley. Unlike any other spa in London—with its resplendent mosaic tiles made from marble and clean lines—the Art Deco Hamam and Spa took its inspiration from the Royal Automobile Club in London’s Pall Mall and the original New York YMCA.

The gym is elegant with a Technogym Kinesis, free weights and all the core machines—an upright bike, a recline bike, running machines and a cross trainer. Once your workout is finished, recline on the warmed-marble massage slab, or make a stop at the ice bar. The spa menu is refreshingly trim and traditional, and there’s a genteel hairdresser that also offers traditional wet shaves for men (gym and spa access included with spa treatments).

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The Berkeley Hotel, London

Courtesy Berkeley Hotel

Personal service are key to the experience at the Berkeley, and that’s why they’ve developed a Fit Analysis package that includes body-fat assessment, weight management support, cardiovascular fitness testing, flexibility tests, BMI measurement and strength assessment.

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The Berkeley Hotel, London

Courtesy Berkeley Hotel

If you’d rather a back-to-basics workout, throw on your swimsuit and take to the rooftop pool. Make time for a treatment or two at the Bamford Spa. Fitness takes a fun turn with the Berkeley Hotel’s rooftop hula-hooping master class. Don’t be fooled, it’s a serious sweat session—you can burn up to 600 calories. If that’s not for you, there’s also a traditional gym and personal training sessions on offer.

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The Berkeley Hotel, London

Courtesy Berkeley Hotel

Finish the day with lunch at Marcus Wareing’s blissful restaurant—it has two Michelin stars and had a major refurbishment last year, so you have a perfect excuse to visit (day passes for the gym and pool $234).

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The Bulgari Hotel, London

Bulgari Hotel

Lee Mullins is the driving force behind the Workshop Gymnasium at the Bulgari Hotel. And his mantra “healthy bodies and healthy minds is what drives us in all we do” sits well with us. You can’t help but be won over by his encouraging but firm approach to fitness.

There is a range of classes on offer, from yoga to reformer Pilates and even boxing. The 25-metre colonnaded swimming pool is so serene and inviting you won’t want to get out. The spa offers all the expected treatments—from massages to manicures, but look closer at the menu and you’ll find some of the most advanced non-invasive beauty treatments in the city, such as the Micro Needle Therapy and LED therapy, both amongst the leading skincare procedures to combat signs of stress and aging ($156 for one-day spa access; gym classes are extra).

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Hotel Gyms in London That Warrant Their Own Visit

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